ABSTRACT

The intensity of the current crisis has had a remarkable number of repercussions in all sectors of the economy and particularly on the countries of the European periphery. In the Spanish case, the impact of the crisis has been quite severe due to a number of factors, mainly the considerable weight of the construction and related sectors in the economic structure. It impacted directly on employment in the construction and supplier industries and also gave rise to a profound crisis in the fi nancial system. As far as the fi nancial system is concerned, the reason was the huge amount of resources invested in building, particularly by savings banks with a regional base and, therefore, highly dependent on regional political powers. The recovery of those funds deteriorated as the crisis advanced and the solvency of the system thus entered a vicious circle.